After such an exciting and unpredictable Round of 16, we’ve finally made it through this month without Champions League, and it was definitely worth the wait, as the quarterfinal ties look insane. Two today, two tomorrow. Looks like we’re all going to attempt to double screen both nights… the dream. On a more serious note, since we’re entering the final stretch and there aren’t as many matches as there were before, we’re going to have adapt our Fantasy format as we continue moving forward.

From the quarterfinals until the very end of the Champions League, we’ll be sticking with our adapted and our previous ‘leg two” approach, in which we’ll be analyzing each match instead of providing 11 picks. With only four fixtures, it would be difficult and pointless to attempt to provide a breadth of picks, as we’d be highly limited by the budget and the number of different players we would be able to fit in. So, without further ado, let’s start chronologically with our analysis

Real Madrid vs Bayern

Well, do we have quite the matchup on our hands… I take back what I said about double screening both nights; nobody is going to be watching Arsenal vs Sporting ahead of this… except the two respective fan groups. Now, Real Madrid is always difficult to predict. Ahead of our Round of 16 picks, we expected a tight first leg between Los Blancos and the Citizens in Madrid, yet, well, Federico Valverde took matters into his own hands and practically knocked Man City out before the halftime whistle was blown. All in all, despite a turbulent season for Real Madrid, Benfica presented itself as more of an obstacle in the Round of 16 than Man City was a round later. Speaking of obstacles, Atalanta definitely was not one for Bayern. We’d even go as far as saying Atalanta’s U19s or Femminile would have provided more of a challenge than their senior team did. 1-6 away and 4-1 at home (with a completely rotated side) is just straight out disrespectful.

Bayern’s dominance on all fronts from the start of the season to now, with almost no slip-ups, edges it for us, despite the UCL Bernabéu factor. While Álvaro Arbeloa has achieved stability to a certain, almost underwhelming, extent, Real Madrid have had a plethora of volatile moments under him, in contrast with Kompany’s Bayern. What complicates this tie even further for Real is Courtois‘ injury, which is an immense blow. As a result, the Englishman Harry Kane is our pick. A 7.89 Sofascore Average Rating this season in all club competitions, and 48 goals in 40 matches. What more to say…

Sporting vs Arsenal

The Champions League without Bodø/Glimt feels off, and we don’t like it one bit. After backing them the whole way throughout this knockout phase, the return leg in Lisbon was too much for the Norwegian dream to handle. To be fair to the Portuguese, they played them out of the park, asserting dominance from the first whistle to the final. Inácio seemed to open the floodgates with his first goal, completely deservedly. On the other hand, Arsenal made it past Leverkusen in typical Arteta fashion; absolutely forgettable and nothing to write home about. Arsenal are just that team, seemingly ruthless and boring at the same time, and we’d love for a first-leg win for the home side, but it just looks quite unlikely.

While taking a positive result back home to London looks quite imminent before this first leg fixture, Rui Borges’ side will have the confidence from the Bodø match at home and won’t hold back, as there’s nothing but a long night of football awaiting them at the Emirates. A win in Portugal and taking a concrete lead to Arsenal is their only mechanism that may potentially grant a semifinal berth. We’ve never shied away from spicing things up, and let’s be frank, nobody wants Arsenal to win the Premier League, let alone the UCL. Sporting, by historical stature and their current roster, is the weakest remaining team in the competition, and we’re going to manifest a positive result against Arsenal in leg one. Sporting’s very own Harry Kane, Luis Javier Suárez, is going to make the Reds cry. 31 goals in 38 matches in all club competitions this season, Saliba will be quaking in his boots.

Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid

If there is a higher power or a ‘God of our understanding’, then even he wouldn’t be able to predict the outcome of this tie, as every time these two rivals play, goals tend to fly left, right, and centre. I mean, Barcelona themselves, while being a joy to watch, are a lottery in terms of results. Securing a last-minute draw via a Yamal penalty away in England, only to batter Newcastle 7-2 at home, in the Round of 16. Similarly, getting battered and then battering Atléti in the Copa del Rey, but not to the extent that Atléti battered them, hence they got knocked out. Yeah…none of it makes sense. Simeone’s side also had some interesting results in the Champions League, but that has more to do with the state Tottenham is in than Atlético itself. As we have a LaLiga tie, it would also be worth mentioning that Barça sit comfortably in first place, while Atlético can only push for third at best, or remain at fourth at worst.

On the flip side, Barcelona will be playing the first leg at home, unlike in the Copa del Rey. It would be wise of Flick and his players to take this first leg very seriously, as they’ve already seen what could potentially await them in the Spanish capital. Despite Barça’s inconsistency and Atlético proving they can beat them, we feel like the Catalans just have too much quality to fall at this hurdle, motivated even more by their unfortunate knockout to the same rival only a month ago. With Raphinha‘s massive injury blow coming in the international break, even more weight is going to be on Yamal‘s shoulders. Luckily for Lamine, he’s got brilliant teammates around him, including Fermín López, who’s having the season of his life.

PSG vs Liverpool

Our final match takes us to the defending Champions League… champions? Champions League champions doesn’t sound right, but you all know what we mean. Our fourth and final fixture takes us to the ‘City of Love’, it takes us to Paris, where PSG will await Liverpool. PSG cruised past Chelsea with absolute ease, beating them with a margin of three goals in both legs. From Dembélé to Barcola, Kvaratskhelia, and Vitinha, their entire side was having a field day, playing around with Chelsea like they were Le Havre or Auxerre on a Sunday afternoon. On the other hand, Liverpool lost for the second time this season away against Galatasaray, but managed to, in Sporting Lisbon style, sink their opponents in the second leg, largely thanks to a Szoboszlai masterclass.

We all remember this matchup in the Round of 16 in last year’s UCL campaign, and Dembélé’s infamous ‘slo-mo’ celebration during the shootout in Anfield. Albeit not as dominant as last year, some parallels can be made between the two campaigns for Enrique’s PSG, while Liverpool are a shadow of the side they once were. Double-digit losses in the EPL in a single campaign is massively disappointing for the Reds. It might seem like we have an agenda against English sides, backing Sporting and now swinging towards PSG, and…well..you’d be absolutely right in thinking that. Jokes aside, PSG are by far the stronger team and might just have a bit too much for Liverpool to handle. Our pick this time is going to be from their back line, of which Nuno Mendes is an instrumental part. The only 23-year-old has transformed into arguably the best left back in the world since signing for PSG four years ago. In this UCL campaign, the Portuguese star has two goals, two assists, a clean sheet, and a 7.18 Sofascore Average Rating after 12 appearances.